Do you like-like me?
by stevieLUVSAlex
Summary: A different take on how Luke&Lorelai COULD have gotten together. Neither one of them wants to admit it openly, so they do it in typical GG fashion. ;-)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: First let me start by saying I LOVE how they got together. The kissing scene at the dragonfly was epic (my all-time favourite L &L moment). NO ONE could rewrite it and make it any better. I just wanted to play with an alternate reality. Instead of Luke making the first move with Liz's wedding, Lorelai makes the first move… sort of. *winks* Set before Liz and TJ's wedding. **

**Lorelai Gilmore came bursting through the door, her dark hair a mess of curls. "Do you like me?" she demanded, placing her hands flat down on the counter.**

 **Luke looked up, not overly surprised by her outburst. It was Lorelai after all, always a flare for the dramatic. "Coffee?" he asked calmly.**

 **The diner was packed with customers lining every table, who glanced up at the sound of her vivacious voice, but she didn't care. This had to be said. Lorelai shook her head and glared at him. "No, I don't want coffee! Well, I do want coffee. I always want coffee. But I don't want coffee right now, right now I want you to answer me. Do you like me?! "**

 **Luke rolled his eyes. "Sure. Doesn't everyone?"**

" **I don't** _ **mean**_ **like everyone else likes me. I mean like-like me. Do you like-like me more than Kirk and Miss Patty and Babette? Do you like me like boys like girls? Do you think about me like Joanie thinks about Chachi?" she was babbling, but she did that 24/7 so that was nothing new but the hysteria in her tone was.**

 **What possessed her to come to the diner in the first place was something Sookie had said to her. Another comment about the way Luke looked out for her. Lorelai had told her business partner and best friend that Luke had loaned her 30 thousand dollars for the Dragonfly and that had just opened up an old can of worms. Apparently, Sookie was never going to let go of the idea that Luke had feelings for the coffee girl and that if Lorelai just admitted it to herself she would see that she felt the same way about diner boy. Lorelai couldn't help but wonder if there was any truth to that. So after yet another fruitless conversation with Sookie about her love life, Lorelai decided to find out one way or another. Hence, the diner.**

 **Luke looked around at the faces staring at them and shifted uncomfortably on his feet. He was the complete opposite of Lorelai, who was loud and bubbly and didn't mind having a million pairs of eyes staring at her. "You're making a scene," he hissed. "I'm trying to work."**

" **So take a break!" she ordered. She wasn't going to allow him to derail this conversation.**

" **I've got customers!"**

" **They're not going to starve in a few minutes. Only I am that dramatic."**

" **Lorelai!"**

 **Lorelai walked around the counter and grabbed his arm, pulling at him. "Let's go outside. Now. I** _ **will**_ **raise my voice even louder and shout until every single person in Stars Hollow hears this conversation, and don't think I won't. I am ALWAYS up for a new challenge." Luke groaned and reluctantly allowed her to lead him. "Ceaser, take over!" Lorelai called out and then she dragged Luke outside, letting go of his arm only when they reached the footpath.**

" **Lorelai!" he snapped. "Have you completely lost it?"**

" **Maybe I have," she spat in reply. "Maybe it's all in my head and I am only seeing what I think I'm seeing. Maybe you only see me as Lorelai, the girl you pour coffee for. Maybe you are just as nice to everyone else as you are to me. Maybe you buy them a Huppa and fix their porches and loan them 30 thousand dollars. Maybe you close your diner and take them to the hospital when their father has a heart attack, maybe you loan them your truck to take their kid to college. Maybe you give them earrings and pretend that they weren't from you because you thought maybe they wouldn't like that. Maybe you mention other names on your first dates. Maybe you teach other women how to fish so that they can go on a date with someone else. I don't know what you do when I'm not around. So maybe you do all those things. Maybe I am crazy to think that you single me out, after all I'm nobody special. I'm just another face in the crowd, another customer who makes your life miserable. I don't-"**

" **You don't make my life miserable," he interjected.**

 **Lorelai paused for a moment. "I don't?"**

" **No."**

 **Silence.**

" **Are you going to elaborate on that?"**

 **Luke rolled his eyes. "What do you want me to say?"**

" **The truth. I am VERY confused right now, Luke, and I don't like to be confused. Confusion and me don't mix. I take comfort in the fact that I know when men find me attractive. I'm usually pretty tuned in that way. But with you… you're just a closed and locked book that I can't break open with anything I might find inside Burt."**

 **He frowned. "You knew the earrings were from me?"**

" **Yes, Luke," she said with a weak smile. THAT was the one thing he took away from all her rambling. "I just don't know what it means. I can't read you like I can other people."**

 **He looked at her. "Is that a good thing?"**

" **I don't know," she answered. She was still trying to figure that out. "You're a mystery to me. I don't always know what you're thinking and how you feel about things. You're grumpy ALL the time. But you- you don't realise just how decent a human being you actually are. So, maybe it is a good thing. You keep me on my toes. You're always there for me, Luke.** _ **Always**_ **."**

 **Luke shrugged. "Ah, I get bored easily."**

" **Luke…"**

 **He looked down and then back up at her. "If I did like-like you… would that be a problem for you?"**

 **Lorelai wasn't expecting the question. She hadn't come here to discuss her feelings for him, but to find out whether Sookie was right. For the moment he wasn't denying it. "I don't- no. I- no, it wouldn't be a problem… if you did… like-like me that is."**

" **Ok."**

" **Ok?" That was all he had to say?**

" **Yeah. Ok."**

" **Ok, what?" she demanded. "Ok, it doesn't bother you that it doesn't bother me or ok you maybe sorta kinda like-like me?" she wished he would just give her a straight answer.**

 **His expression deadpan. "Just ok. I have to get back to the diner."**

 **Lorelai scoffed as she watched him walk away. This conversation was more fruitless than any previous one she had ever had with Sookie.**

 **Men!**

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. I could write another chapter if anyone is interested… but I'm not a mind reader so you'll have to hit the button below to tell me.**

" **What do you call a fake noodle?"**

" **An im-pasta!"**

– **Lauren on Ellen/Classic Joke Tuesday. (cause it's Tuesday here in Oz)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for the interest in another chapter :-) I was blown away by the kindness of the reviews. I have a little bit in store for you guys and because of your kind generosity, I have made the chapters a little longer than I usually do (my way of saying thank you). A promise is a promise.**

 **Have fun (I know I did)!**

 **Luke walked back into the diner, his head spinning with confusion. Lorelai had asked him straight out whether he 'like-liked' her, and he hadn't said yes. He should have said yes. It wasn't something he needed to ponder over. He had been into her since the day they met, always waiting for his moment to make a move. Perhaps that's why he hadn't given her an answer or maybe he just needed a chance to process it in typical Luke Danes fashion.**

 **He was a man and it was the man's job to make the move. Lorelai was Lorelai, of course, so sometimes that detail got lost in translation.**

" _ **No. It wouldn't be a problem… if you did… like-like me that is."**_

 **The words echoed in his head. If she had been bold enough to ask him if he liked her, then surely that meant that she harboured some kind of feelings for him. And that was good, wasn't it? Perhaps it was time to make his big move. He smiled as he moved around the diner, thinking about a grand gesture. She had listed off some of the things he had done for her in the past, so clearly she paid attention, so this time it was going to have to stand out if he hoped to really woo her.**

 **He found himself wondering how she was dealing with his non-answer.**

 **It must have been making her crazy.**

 **L &L … L&L … L&L**

 **Lorelai walked into the Dragonfly, which was in total chaos. It was slowly getting there. The practise run was only a week away and there was still so much to do. Thank Goodness for Luke's 30 thousand dollars or it would have come to a screeching halt.**

" **Lorelai, I cannot deal with Sookie anymore!" Michel announced with his signature grumpy look on his face.**

" **What happened, Michel?" she asked calmly.**

" **She won't listen to a word I'm saying."**

 **Lorelai patted him on the shoulder as she brushed passed him. "I'll go talk to her."**

 **In the kitchen, Sookie was throwing vegetables into a pot. "Michel told you I wasn't listening to him, didn't he?" she asked, before Lorelai could open her mouth.**

 **Lorelai walked over to the coffee pot and poured herself a mug. In all her rambling she hadn't thought to get coffee before she left, and she had been kicking herself all the way back to the Dragonfly. There was no coffee better than Luke's. "He may have mentioned something," she replied. "Should I be worried?"**

" **No. So where did you go?"**

 **Lorelai took a deep breath. "To Luke's."**

 **Sookie immediately snapped her head up, an all-knowing grin plastered across her face. "Ooh, to** _ **Luke's**_ **."**

" **You're wrong!"**

 **Sookie frowned. "You didn't go to Luke's."**

" **I went to Luke's. I asked him if he liked me."**

 **Her friend's eyes grew exceptionally large. "You ASKED him straight out. You said, 'Luke, do you like me?'?"**

" **Yes," she nodded.**

 **Sookie dropped the spoon beside the pot, giving Lorelai her full attention. "What did he say?"**

" **Ok."**

" **Ok… what?"**

" **Just ok."**

" **I don't understand."**

" **Neither do I!" Lorelai cried. "I don't understand him at all. He's so closed down and emotionally stunted that he can't even answer a simple yes or no question. I can't believe I was stupid enough to ask him in the first place."**

" **Why did you?'**

" **Because YOU keep saying there's something there and there isn't. He didn't say yes. He let me ramble on, he threw in a few puzzling questions and then abruptly ended the conversation leaving me with the same answer I had before I went there. It's** _ **your**_ **fault. He didn't say yes, so now we can drop this, ok?"**

 **Lorelai didn't know why she was so upset that Luke hadn't said yes. It didn't really matter, did it? They'd been friends for eight years and that didn't have to change. In fact, why would it? It wasn't like she had sat down and thought about the fact that she may or may not harbour feelings for the man who poured her coffee. Did she miss him when he wasn't around? Maybe. Did she get jealous when he was with someone else? Sometimes (ok, ALL the time). Did she feel sick when they fought? Absolutely! But that didn't equal love.**

" **But he didn't say no?" Sookie confirmed.**

 **Lorelai groaned. "No, Sookie. He didn't say no. He didn't say** _ **anything**_ **. I think that was confirmation enough."**

" **You're disappointed?" Sookie observed.**

" _ **What**_ **? No. I couldn't care less."**

 **She raised an eyebrow in response, not believing it for a single moment.**

" **Enough Sookie," she snapped. "You didn't get the answer you wanted. End of story. Drop it or I'll be forced to get Michel to run the kitchen from now on."**

 **Sookie gasped. "You wouldn't?"**

" **Wouldn't I?" she challenged.**

 **Sookie went back to stirring and Lorelai went back out to the foyer to check on things. Of course Lorelai had no rights where Sookie and her cooking were concerned, but for a moment she had led her friend to believe that she did, and that was enough for now.**

 **As she threw herself into work, she couldn't help but wonder why the disappointment about his non-answer made her stomach feel funny.**

 **L &L … L&L … L&L**

 **Luke waited for Lorelai to come in for breakfast every morning or three days and she never did. Was she mad at him? The only time she ever abandoned her coffee fix was if they were in a fight (and they had had more than their fair share already). But he couldn't remember them getting into argument, or saying something that would overly offend her.**

 **Luke didn't like it when she didn't come in. He looked forward to seeing her every day, to hearing her ramble. When she didn't come in for lunch on the third day, he decided to go to her. He poured her a large coffee and sealed the lid, before packing up a Danish (for the day she missed) and her favourite donut. Then Luke told Ceaser, he was taking a break.**

 **He walked the few blocks to the Dragonfly.**

 **She was at the reception desk when he came in.**

" **Luke!" she looked surprised to see him.**

 **He held up the coffee cup and paper bag. "I figure you might need this."**

" **Why?" she asked coolly.**

 **Perhaps they were fighting and he didn't even know it.**

" **I know how crazy you get when you don't get coffee."**

" **I have coffee," she stated, pointing to the paper cup on the counter with the** _ **Weston's**_ **symbol on it. Ouch. "I'm busy. I'm** _ **working**_ **."**

 **Luke concealed his smile. Somehow, whenever she was angry with him, she was always cuter. The fiery little temper that occasionally flared was dramatic but charming. He would have said anything she wanted to hear then, if she had only asked.**

" **You've been busy for three days?"**

" **What are you counting?" she snarled.**

" **Yeah, it's been three days of peace and quiet."**

 **Lorelai screwed up her face. "Fine, then we'll make it three more and another three after that."**

 **This was NOT how he wanted this conversation to play out. The last thing he wanted to do was push her further away. "You missed Danish day," he said still holding the bag.**

 **She hadn't made a move for the food or the coffee, which told him that whatever was going on in that pretty little head of hers was fairly serious. "I don't like them anymore."**

" **Really?"**

" _ **Really**_ **."**

 **To the point then. "Why are you avoiding me?"**

 **Lorelai opened her mouth to protest, but thought better of it. "I needed time to think," she said, instantly lowering her voice.**

" **About what?"**

" **Life. Coffee.** _ **Friends."**_

" **O-K." was this another subtle way of her asking him if there was more going on between them, either way he was relishing in her vulnerability. It made her a little more human, a little more flawed and a little more perfect.**

" **I'm still thinking, so be gone before someone drops a house on you."**

 **Luke turned to leave.**

" **And you can leave the coffee."**

 **He placed it down on the counter with a smile.**

" **And the Danish."**

 **He grinned. "I thought you didn't like them anymore?"**

" **I'm still deciding."**

 **Luke didn't know if they were talking about the actual Danish or if they were speaking in code.**

" **Ok, well… don't take too long. It'll go bad."**

 **She picked up the coffee and took a sip, the joy radiating from every corner of her face. It was good. THAT was the look he enjoyed seeing every day when she came in for breakfast. It was the one thing that made him think the entire day didn't suck.**

 **He turned to leave.**

 **L &L … L&L … L&L**

 **Lorelai looked down at the paper bag, not knowing how she felt about him turning up to her work place with breakfast treats. Ok, in some small way she was overjoyed. But she was still confused. Lorelai knew from day one that Luke was a man of few words, perhaps this was his subtle way of responding.**

 **The cell phone vibrated in her pocket and she fished it out to see Rory's name flashing across the screen.**

" **Mom," her daughter's voice echoed through the other end.**

" **Rory?"**

" **Mom. I need you to remain calm."**

 **Instantly, Lorelai's heart began to hammer in her chest. "Just for future reference, when you say that to a mother – ANY mother – the first thing they're going to do is panic. What happened? Should I be sitting down?"**

" **I had a little accident."**

" **How little?"**

" **Teeny, tiny, not even worth the mention."**

 **In all fairness, Rory did sound completely normal. "Start talking right now!"**

" **I was helping a fellow classmate put up some stage props and I kinda fell… I might have broken my leg. Probably. Most likely. Definitely."**

" **WHAT?!" Lorelai's little baby. Injured. She had a flashback to the time Rory was dating Jess and he got into a car accident breaking her arm. Lorelai had never forgiven Jess for that, and whoever was responsible for this, would never get her forgiveness either. It was parenting.**

" **I'm fine, mom. Really."**

" **I'm coming to Yale."**

" **Mom, I'm** _ **fine**_ **. You have work."**

" **I'm coming. I'll be there as soon as I can."**

 **She hung up the phone before her daughter could object. Lorelai called for Sookie who instantly came running out. "What's wrong?"**

" **Rory had an accident. She broke her leg," she explained, shoving the cell phone back into her pocket. "I've get to get to Yale."**

" **Of course. But how are you- your jeep is at Gypsy's."**

 **Lorelai groaned. She had forgotten that it was going in for a service today. Her heart ached to see Rory. It didn't matter what it was going to take for her to get there, she needed to see that her child was alive and well for herself or she was never going to stop panicking.**

 _ **Luke.**_

" **I've got to go. Can you hold down this place til I get back?" Sookie nodded. "I'll call you." She rushed out the door, hoping that Luke was just slow enough that he was still in the car park. Her heart soared when she saw the green truck and rushed out just as he began kicking up the stones. "LUKE!"**

 **The truck came to an immediate halt.**

 **She appeared at his window. "I need to borrow your truck!"**

" **WHAT?"**

" **Rory had an accident and she broke her leg and I need to get to Yale. Now. Please, Luke. I need to-"**

" **Get in. I'll drive you."**

 **Lorelai sighed with relief and went around to the passenger's side, suddenly grateful that she didn't have to be the one in the driver's seat. Who knew where she would end have ended up. Her head was swimming.**

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed that. Reviews are SO gratefully appreciated, so feel free to hit that button any time… any time at all… no problem, I want wait ALL day! *wink***

"A dyslexic walks into a bra!"

Classic joke Tuesday / Lauren Graham

Yes, people I am LAUREN GRAHAM OBESSED!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hello beautiful people. Thank you, thank you, thank you for remaining loyal readers and reviewers (you're all awesome). I want to thank JUNIENMOMO for allowing me to steal a teeny tiny question that I used in my dialogue. YOU know that it is, I know what it is, and I am very grateful for your creative brain baby. :-)

Enjoy the last chapter. It's been a pleasure.

 **Luke let her look out the window for a solid half an hour before he spoke. Half an hour of complete silence was easy for him, but he assumed it wasn't so easy for her. He imagined that even in her sleep she was a talker.**

" **Did Rory call you?" he asked.**

 **She didn't answer.**

" **Lorelai?"**

" **Yes," she whispered.**

" **Did she sound terrified?"**

" **No."**

 **Geez, it was like pulling teeth. Luke was supposed to be the person with few words and she was supposed to be the one he couldn't shut up. Now he wished she would chew his ear off. A Lorelai who didn't talk made him worry.**

" **She's going to be ok."**

" **I know."**

" **Lorelai…"**

" **I don't want to discuss it, Luke. Just drive."**

 **He nodded and kept his eyes on the road. A few minutes later, the rain came in an instant downpour. The sound of thunder echoed across the Connecticut sky, the lightening flashed across it, lighting up the world for .1 of a second. For the next few miles Luke patiently waited for it to slow down but it reacted in the opposite way, making it hard for him to control the truck and see out his windshield. He wanted to get Lorelai to her daughter, but he also wanted to get her there alive.**

 **Luke indicated and pulled the truck over to the side of the road.**

" **What are you doing?" She asked, a slight panic in her voice.**

" **We can't drive in this. It's too dangerous."**

" **Luke, its fine. It's-" Lorelai looked out the window and her mouth formed an 'O' shape, as if she hadn't paid any attention to the weather until that moment. "Oh. Ok."**

 **Luke turned off the engine and leaned back against the chair.**

" **You ready to talk yet?"**

" **No."**

 **L &L … L&L … L&L**

 **Luke would never understand how hard it was for Lorelai to stop talking. But she figured if she was silent long enough, he would start talking, and she wanted him to say something about his feelings –** _ **anything**_ **– it didn't even matter anymore, whether or not he felt the same way. In the past three days she had realised something crucial.**

 **Sookie was spot on. Lorelai was in love with Luke Danes.**

 **How it happened or when, she had NO clue. Probably as far back as the first year of meeting him, maybe even before then. It didn't really matter either way, she just knew she did. It was a lot to handle for Lorelai Gilmore, considering she had never really been in love before. The idea of love had always been appealing, imagining growing old with someone and sharing a life together, a house, children (matching jogging suits). It had been a brief consideration when she was pregnant at 16, to get married because it seemed like the right thing to do. But not in a longingly good way. In truth, she had never met anyone that she could honestly see that happening with.**

 **But she could see it with Luke. Strangely enough.**

 **Lorelai watched the rain drops fall on the passenger's window.**

" **Why are you so angry at me?"**

" **I'm not talking about it," she repeated. Why didn't he take the hint and realise that it was HIS move now?**

" **There's nothing else to do while we wait. I'm sure you are going stir crazy trying to keep quiet."**

 **He knew her well.**

" **If you want to talk so much, you do it. Have you got something to say?"**

" **Like what?"**

 **Lorelai scoffed and opened the door. Damned if she was going to wait one more moment sitting in a car with him if he was going to play dumb. She didn't care if she got wet or struck by lightning. The rain instantly drenched her, and Luke was out of the truck before she could blink.**

" **Lorelai! Get back in the truck. Have you completely lost your mind?"**

" **Apparently I have!" she snapped. It was the only plausible reason for this new insanity. Perhaps she could plead her new mental state in front of a judge and jury and they'd medicate her until her newfound feelings for Luke evaporated. Sounded like a good plan right now.**

" **Please, get back in the truck," he begged.**

 **She whirled around and faced him, her cheeks red with anger. "My daughter broke her leg and you want to talk?!"**

" **Right now I just want you to get back in the truck."**

 **Lorelai didn't move.**

" **If you stay out here, then I'll stay out here and if I catch my death that's on you."**

 **Lorelai could feel the cold water dripping down her back. It wasn't pleasant. She could stand out here and yell until he finally said something or she could sit in the warm car, in a confined space doing the same thing. It was a no-brainer. Lorelai squatted on the ground until her butt was on the asphalt.**

 **Luke groaned. "You're crazy!"**

" **And my Native American name, I believe!"**

 **He shook his head in frustration, (now perhaps he knew how** _ **she**_ **had been feeling for the last three days). Without warning, he reached down and picked her up, hooking one arm under her legs and the other around her back. She began to kick, despite how hard her heart was hammering at their close proximity.**

 **Did he feel it too?**

" **Put me down!" she ordered.**

 **Luke held tight until he reached the truck and then managed, with great effort, to shove her in. Lorelai kicked him in response and used the moment to climb back out. There was no way she was letting him control her.**

 **Luke winced in pain and she almost felt sorry for him (almost). "What are you five?!"**

 **Lorelai pouted and stood staring at him.**

 **L &L … L&L … L&L**

 **She still wasn't talking and the rain wasn't letting up.**

 **They was a stare-off as both of them stood their ground.**

 **Luke watched her shiver as the water dripped from her hair. She looked like a drowned rat. A beautiful drowned rat. He couldn't watch her freeze to death. He slipped his jacket off and wrapped it around her shoulders.**

 **Lorelai accepted it without a word.**

" **What are you thinking?" he pressed.**

" **That I'm an idiot," she replied, pulling the jacket tighter around herself to keep the heat in.**

 **At the moment that was certainly true, but he wasn't going to say that and anger her when she was finally talking. "Why?"**

 **Lorelai sighed and he could tell that whatever she was about to say was hard for her. Her voice was quiet when she spoke, almost inaudible. "I beared my soul to you, Luke. I made myself vulnerable and you just** _ **stood**_ **there. I feel like an idiot."**

" **You always feel like an idiot," he pointed out.**

" **Not like this," she responded with a snap. "It wasn't even my idea. This was all Sookie and her stupid romantic notions of fairy tales and happy endings. Fairy tales are for kids and happy endings don't exist. She was the one who planted the idea in my head. I was just stupid enough to go along with it."**

" **What idea?" he asked curiously.**

 **She didn't answer his question directly. "I was fine with the way things were. I liked going to Luke's and having the perfect cup of Joe and wondering what new subject you had to grumble about. I liked our banter and the way you always seemed to come running when I needed you. You don't tell me when I ask you outright how you feel, but you show it to me in other ways. Instead of lending me your truck, you drop everything without hesitation and you drive me there."**

" **You can't really drive a stick. You say you can but-"**

 **Lorelai cut her eyes at him. "Luke!"**

" **Ok."**

" **All that has to mean** _ **something**_ **," she said, evidently frustrated.**

 **Luke nodded. "It does."**

" _ **What**_ **?" she demanded when he didn't expand. "What does it mean?"**

" **What does it mean to you?"**

 **Lorelai rolled her eyes. "I don't want to play games with you, Luke. Just give me a straight answer."**

" **You give me one. Answer the question, what does all that I do mean to** _ **you**_ **?"**

 **She searched inside herself. If she was watching this from the sidelines, imagining some dumb TV movie, there was no doubt in her mind that she would yelling at the screen and telling both of them they were crazy. For each other. Lorelai had been foolish. Luke was a man of few words, she knew that, and yet she had allowed her fear and confusion to take hold of her, blaming Luke for being just who he was. Lorelai loved him. ALL of him, and she accepted him for the way he was (flaws and all), and he accepted her the same way. Neither one of them tried to change each other.**

" _ **Everything**_ **," she whispered as the tears gathered in her eyes. Here was a man who knew her inside and out, tolerated her quirky little ways, loved her child as his own and most importantly, he was reliable in every sense of the word. He was unselfish, generous, kind, and still found ways to make her feel like she was the most important person in the world and he did all of these things without saying a word. "What does it mean to** _ **you**_ **?" she whispered.**

 **He smiled.**

" **Luke…"**

" **What idea did Sookie plant in your head?" he asked, unable to come up with anything except the obvious.**

" **That you do all those things because you…"**

" **Because I…?"**

" **You like-like me?" she posed the answer as a question.**

 **Luke grinned. The vulnerability suited her well. It was time to put her out of her misery. "I like-like you," he confirmed.**

" **Oh."**

" **Oh? That's all you're going to say?"**

" **Yeah. Oh."**

 **They both began to laugh. So much for grand gestures.**

 _ **This one would just have to do,**_ **he thought as he took one step forward bridging the gap between them. Luke slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her against his chest. He heard her sharp intake of breath and he could feel her chest rise and fall with the beat of her heart and it was hammering fast, probably as fast as his. Luke had waited years for this moment, probably more than any sane man should, and if he waited another second he was either going to explode or Lorelai would come to her senses. He took his chance and pressed his mouth to hers. She responded immediately, parting her lips as an invitation to his gesture. Lorelai's arms snaked around his neck and he felt like all of his Christmases had come at once.**

 **Finally, he released her and she immediately stepped out of his arms, their hands falling to their side.**

 **Luke's head was swimming. He had just kissed Lorelai Gilmore.**

 **L &L … L&L … L&L**

 **Her head was swimming. Lorelai had just kissed Luke Danes.**

 **And she liked it. A** _ **lot**_ **.**

 **Involuntarily, she stepped forward and reached out to grab hold of him, but he jerked away. "What are you doin?"**

" **Just shut up and hold still," she ordered. He did and she grabbed hold of him long enough to wrap her arms around his waist, her fingers twirling around the material of his t-shirt. His arm resumed its position around her neck, securing her in his embrace. The kiss was more passionate and heated than the first, making Lorelai's head spin like she was riding the world's biggest rollercoaster.**

 **They soon ran out of air, forcing them to break apart.**

" **Wow…" she sighed.**

" **Does this mean you like-like me?" he smirked.**

" **Ok."**

" **Lorelai…"**

" **Yes," she answered with a soft smile. "I like-like you."**

" **You know, we're both old too for this like-like thing. I feel like I'm in high school," Luke said turning up his nose in distaste. "You want to go out with me or what?"**

" **Yeah," she nodded. "I want to go out with you. I mean- you know, I guess that would be the next logical step."**

" **Good. Ok. Good."**

" **Good. Good."**

 **With a kiss like that, how could she resist?**

 **They both forgot about the rain and resumed kissing, thunder and lightning sounding all around them.**

A/N: THE END!

I don't want to rewrite the date because I think you'll all agree with me that it was pretty damn perfect… except the MISSING scene of how they got to the bedroom, but there is another FF by someone else that was pretty perfect and I don't think I could beat that.

Thank you VERY much for sticking with it and supporting this story. MUCHLY appreciated. What did you think of the ending… drop me a line, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

"WHY DID THE SCARECOW WIN A NOBLE PRIZE?"

"BECAUSE HE WAS OUTSTANDING IN HIS FIELD!"

*hangs head* I actually HATE dad-jokes but when Lauren Graham tells them, she's funny as. LAST one. I _promise_.


End file.
